Play Ball: Sweeping View of Mets’ Smaller Field

Baseball is back in Flushing, only this time with much cozier confines.

It’s opening day for the New York Mets, with a game underway against the Atlanta Braves. To bring you the feel of the sport’s annual return, WSJ’s Shane Ford created a panoramic view of Citi Field during the stadium’s first pre-baseball National Anthem of the season.

Fans with a keen eye will notice a change: The dimensions of the playing field shrank significantly over the off-season, in a bid to make the stadium friendlier to sluggers. Two Mets players stand to benefit from Citi Field’s the shorter fences, as WSJ’s Jared Diamond explained:

When the Mets announced the alterations last fall, they said they determined that Citi Field swallowed up 81 potential New York home runs since it opened in 2009. But how many more home runs should fans actually expect Wright to hit this year? What about Jason Bay, another right-handed slugger seemingly sapped of his of his strength by Citi Field.

To find out, The Wall Street Journal reviewed every long fly ball and line drive hit by Wright and Bay last season to see how many of them would now clear the fences.

Based on our admittedly unscientific research, Wright lost at least six—and as many as nine—home runs last year, while Bay lost between four and six. Wright and Bay hit 14 and 12 homers last year, respectively.